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The Prom, Chapter nine
Chapter nine of The Prom. This chapter is a modified version of Daring Dan's "Innocents Aboard". Story The yellow seaplane was a tiny dot against the brilliant blue sky, soaring a mile above the Pacifica towards Cape Suzette. Kit leaned back in the navigator's chair eyes closed. He loved this chair, this plane, he loved sitting here sightless, totally giving himself over to the sound and vibration of the engines, like old friends speaking to him, telling him that all was well. He hadn't flown in nearly two weeks. Despite his vehement protestations that he was fully recovered, Baloo and co simply wouldn't let him fly, fearing that something might happen hundreds of miles out over the ocean as they were now. It had been the longest flightless stretch in Kit's life since he'd come to Higher-for-Hire, and every time he'd stood inside, listening to the Sea Duck's engines as the plane left without him, he'd been filled with anger and frustration. But now, at last, Baloo had relented. Kit had put aside his cane, and more importantly the medication that inevitably fogged his mind. The stitches had pretty much melded into his wound by now (thanks to the chitin), and he felt no pain, and he was among the clouds again, Baloo at his side. No matter that it had simply been a cargo run of the most routine order, boring on the surface. To Kit, it had been sheer heaven. "So Lil-Britches, pretty nice to be back in the saddle, huh?" Baloo chuckled deft as ever at sensing the teen's moods, "is it that obvious? man I can't believe I haven't flown in thirteen days! it feels like forever papa-bear" Kit replied, "I know what you mean, I darn near forgot how tough it is ta fly solo partner, the o' Duck just ain't been the same without you, I'm lucky to have Riven fill in" Baloo grinned, "thanks" Kit smiled, "don't worry kid" Baloo laughed, "so Kit: you think you forgot everything I taught you about flying in all that sack-time?" he suddenly adds, "me? I'm Kit Cloudkicker! besides it's like riding a bike right? once you learn you never forget!" Kit howled, "maybe so Lil-Britches, maybe so, why don't you go ahead and take over partner, bring us on in the rest o' the way home?" the pilot proposed bringing out the co-pilot controller, "thanks Baloo!" the adolescent grinned, he'd almost begun to feel at home in this chair, but after his layoff he felt nervous suddenly, he lightly ran his hands over the controls and forced himself to do a status report, "OK papa-bear, we're at 5300 feet, airspeed 188 MPH, heading north-northwest one-five-two degrees" he said, a slight quaver in his voice, "easy kid, it'll come back, don't worry" Baloo soothed squeezing Kit's shoulder gently, he sat back and watched the boy for a moment, conflicting emotions running through him, it was a little scary: the way he had felt over the last week of flights, there had been none of the usual joy, the sense of freedom, he couldn't get his mind away from the crow's nest at Higher-for-Higher, sitting here now, that fear was mixed with pride: he loved seeing Kit at the controls of the Sea Duck now, still filled with the same sense of wonder he'd had that first day when Baloo had allowed the frail little cub to take the controls, this plane and the love of flight was something that bound them together and that filled Baloo with joy, still it was impossible for him to separate the experience of flying from the boy who sat next to him; all of the passion and exuberance the pilot had always drawn from flight was magnified, as long as Kit was beside him, but if the boy wasn't there, the experience was hollow, that was what scared the adult-bear: it was all the proof he needed that his life was no longer his own, "you OK papa-bear?" Kit asked nervously sensing the pilot's apprehension, "just fine! you're doing great Lil-britches, just glad ta have you back in that chair, that's all, so, you think you're up to trying to land her?" Baloo chuckled, "you bet!" Kit grinned, a little surprised that Baloo was willing to trust him already on his first day back, "uh, thanks Baloo, you know-" he thanked, "don't worry about it partner, I know you can handle it, she's all yours kid: take us home!" Baloo laughed. The next day, Rebecca and Kit had gone to the hospital to have his stitches checked on their progress of healing, which had finished, and now were heading back home in a taxi. "Thanks for taking me to the hospital Ms. Cunningham" Kit said as he ran his fingers over the spot on his gut where the stitches had melted in the wound: the mark was placed bottom-right of his bellybutton, "sorry to be such a pain" he mutters, "it's no bother, there's nothing in the office that couldn't wait for an hour or two, does it hurt at all?" Rebecca replies smiling as the cab sped through the streets of Cape Suzette, "not really, it kinda itches, but Dr. Gosselin said that was normal" the teen replied, "I guess you're going to have a little souvenir from the experience, huh?" she laughed, "yeah" he scowled, "I'm never going to the beach, I'll tell you that! this scar is really gross..." he adds, "call it a badge of honor, it'll fade in time I'm sure, besides you rarely wear a shirt anymore" she giggled squeezing his paw sympathetically, the taxi pulled up outside Higher-for-Hire, "hey isn't that your teacher?" Rebecca said staring at an adult-sturgeon-woman who was just looking out into the bay: Baloo Riven and Wildcat were away on another run, while Rey Molly and Ramón were still in school, "hey yeah that's Mrs. Meetra, wonder what brings her here?" Kit answered squinting as he looked at her, Kit and Rebecca slipped out of the cab, Rebecca pausing to hand the driver some bills, "papa-bear's not back yet, I wonder-" he adds just when the fish notices them, "oh there you are, I was just about to leave!" she said, "what do you need Ms. Meetra?" Rebecca said, "well I trust you are well?" she says to Kit, "very well, thank you" Kit answered, "oh good, looks like you'll be able to attend the prom now, here you are" she expressed handing a card to Kit: to both bear's surprise it showed the prom was now being held on an aquatic-airliner-plane; a Sud-Est SE.200 Amphitrite, or SNCASE SE.200, "wait I thought the prom was gonna be at school" Rebecca recalls, "initially yes, but there was an accident when one of our tables broke on us and spilled beverages over an outlet" Mrs. Meetra explained, "yikes" Kit gasps, "oh, so I'm guessing you had to move the prom to somewhere else" Rebecca deduced, "exactly, and I have a friend who works as a sailor on the plane, so I asked if he and his crew wouldn't mind hosting and they accepted, in fact he used to work on the Spruce Moose, and initially we were planning to host the prom there, 'cause ever since word got out that it can fly in and out of Cape-Suzette, they started giving flying-tours around the area" Mrs. Meetra explained, "whoa, looks like Owl Capone's little theft of it did it a favor" Rebecca jokes making everybody laugh, "what happened with the Spruce Moose?" Kit wonders, "well one of their engines suddenly died and needs a new battery, but they won't be able fix it until a few days later, so we moved to this plane here, I think it's called an Amphitrite" Mrs. Meetra describes, "Sud-Est SE.200 Amphitrite?" Kit guessed, "yeah that's it, so you and Rey coming?" she asks, "you don't think it's weird for two separate species to be in love?" Kit wondered shyly, "what? no, I think you two are perfect for each other, I've noticed how you both look at each other, I've seen it a lot of times" Mrs. Meetra answered, though secretly she didn't blame Kit for being wary, she's heard that some people do find interspecies-romance odd, and sometimes dumb, but not her, "well alright, we'll go" Kit relents, "I hope you don't have a hard time" she expressed and was planning to leave when she noticed Kit looked skinny, "Kit you look thin!" she notes, "oh! I'm fine, I had appendicitis remember? it tends to make you not wanna eat for a while" he replied snapping out of his reverie, "goodness!" the fish exclaimed, "I'm fine now, but I lost a lot of weight in the first few days because of it, um...wanna see my scar?" he asked sheepishly, Mrs. Meetra snickers, "I have noticed you're belly looking half-bare" she teases making Rebecca laugh and Kit blush, nevertheless he allowed her to see the two inch white gash on his side, "the stitches had already finished melding in the doctor used a material called chitin in it so it wouldn't need to be removed, and said it'll fade a little, they had to shave the fur off before the surgery, and that'll grow back, so-" Kit began, "I understand, another friend of mine went through a similar experience, but I must be off, have fun at the prom Kit" she bids and walks to her car and with a wave, drives off. Stay tuned for The Prom, Chapter ten Gallery Category:Fan fiction Category:Fanon for the talespin series